Improvement in devices for steam and other enginery



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.PETER En AR, 0E nosromMAssAcI-IUSETTS.

Letters Patent No.87,783, dated .Ma/rch 16, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT DEVICES FOR STEAM.' AND OTHER ENG-INERY.

-Own* Thochedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part cf the Same.

To all to whom tlwse presents shall come.:l

Be it known that I, PETER LEAR, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk. and Commonwealth of VMassachusetts, have made a new and useful Invention for Applying the Power of Steamfcr the Purpose of Raising or Propelling a Body of Water; and do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof; due reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan,

Figure 2, a vertical and longitudinal section, and

Figure 3, a transverse section of an apparatus in which my invention is embodied.

The invention comprising the subject-matter of this patent, relates to a novel mode of raising quantities of water, or of producingacontinuons flow of water, by the direct action of steam upon such water, either for elevating the same for various purposes, or for producing i'otary motion, without the aid of a steamengine, the water itself, as will be hereinafter explained, taking the place of, and performing the functions of such steamengine, for transmitting the power/of steam to machinery of various kinds.

This invention consists in a steam-chest and valve, and two cylinders, constructed and arranged substantially as the corresponding parts of an ordinary steamengine, and in the combination with such cylinders of loosely-fitting-pis'tons, or disks, prolonged to such an extent as to be guided in their movements by the bore of the cylinder, without the aid of a piston-rod, such pistons floating upon the surface of a body of water contained in a tank surrounding the cylinders, and in which such cylinders are nearly submerged, and which are filled and emptied by the alternating admission of steam upon the top of the pistons, the length of the latter being such as to lill the space within the cylinder, between the surface of the water, when at its greatest altitude therein, and the steam-entrance port, by means of which construction the loss of steam is avoided, and incidental advantages gained, which will be hereinafter referred to.

The water, acted upon by the pistons before alluded to, may be raised `to various altitudes andlocalities, in

place of pumps of ordinary manufacture, or it may be impelled with great force against a rotary wheel of any suitable construction, and thus produce rotary motion for driving machinery without a steam-engine; one value of my invention being found to exist in the gain between the expense of a steam-engine and that of the steam-chest and cylinders before mentioned, combined with a tank and water-wheel of any suitable construction, when the object is to obtain rotary power, and between the expense of the steam-chest, cylinders, and

l tank, as compared with that of a steam-pump, when the' object sou'ght is the elevation of water, the water itself', as before observed, being in both cases the medium of Atransmitting the power of steam, in place of expensive machinery.

part of the tank, and above the body of water with' which such tank -is to beiilled, the water being maintained therein at a uniform level, and with its surface, under the construction of parts as shown in the present instance, on a level with the line A and B inthe accompanying drawings.

The steam-chest C is to be provided with direct steam-ports D D, exhaust-port E, and valve F, in manner precisely like th`e corresponding parts of an ordinary steam-engine, and is to receive steam from the generator A.

G G, in the drawings, denote two upright closed twin cylinders, placed within the tank B, and in immediate vicinity of the steam-chest 0, each of such cylinders communicating with one of the steam-ports D D, which enters it through its top, the bottom of each cylinder being provided with a water-passage, or orifice H, or H', for the admission of water to the interior thereof from the body contained in the tank B, the said oriiices H H being provided with turn-up valves, or clappers I I, a's represented in the drawings.

Within each cylinder G, I dispose a loosely-fitting piston, composed preferably of a hollow air-tight drum, J, capable of resisting considerable external pressure, the two pistons being counterparts of each other, and of such a length that the bore of the cylinder shall form a guide for their vertiealmovements, the cylindersA being disposed at such an elevation above the given level ot the body of the water contained in the tank B, that the pistons shall nearly or quite fill the space between this level of the water within the cylinder and the top of the latter, the object of this being, not

only that the steam, upon entering the cylinder, by the' port or passage D, shall impinge directly against. the piston, and avoid the loss which would result from the more rapid condensation of the stearnconsequent upon coming in contact with the low temperature of the water, as compared with that of the piston, but' of avoiding the time wliich would be consumed in the compression of air within the cylinder by the force ofthe steam, before a sufficiently compact cushion was produced to allow the. steam to act upon and expel the water from the cylinder, it being remarked, and will be apparent to mechanics, that the action of the steam upon the metallic pistons tends to impart to them and maintain a temperature considerably above that of the water below them.

Furthermore, I form, in the lower part of each cyl- L, such conduit rising above the level of the water, and

having its outlet situated at or immediately above the.

surface of the waterwithin the tank. The current of water driven through such conduit may be employed for the purpose of imparting rotary motion to a wheel.

When the desired object is to elevate a quantity of water to different localities, the conduit is to be extended and conducted to such localities.

In the drawings accompanying this specification, I have given a representation, at `M, of a horizontal Water-wheel, of any proper construction, supported within the tank B, by a perpendicular shaft, N, the floats of the said Water-wheel being disposed above the surface-line A B of the water, and in horizontal alignment lwith the discharging-orifice, or outlet of each conduit, L, the wheel M being so situated, .with respect to the said conduits, that the water issuing from them shall impinge directly against its oat, and preferably upon opposite points in its circumference, the intermittent iiuxions of water from the conduit-s thus imparting a continuous and steady rotatioirto the wheel.

In practice, it may be found desirable to unite the outlets of the conduits in one pipe, and convey the conuent streams in one body upon the perimeter of the wheel.

In order that the water issuing from each conduit shall exert its full power upon the periphery or the floats of the wheel M', I attach -to the extremity of4 each conduit a short semi-tubular curved chute, O, which encloses the outer circumference of the wheel, and prevents the liability of the passage of water past such wheel, at a tangent to its path of revolution, without exerting its full force thereupon.

The wheel M is, of course, to be connected with the machinery to be driven, in a manner as will be understood by millwrights. A wheel of any suitable form may be employed for the purpose, and such wheel is to be provided with means of actuating the valve F.

rIhe operation of the above-described arrangement of parts is as follows:

It' being supposed, as a starting-point, that the piston of one cylinder is at its highest altitude, and that of the other at its lowest point, as shown in the drawings, such pistons, in both cases, resting directly upon or impinging against the water below them, the steamport of the first-mentioned cylinder being in open communication therewith, steam is admitted to the steamcloset C, entersthe Erst-mentioned cylinder, and impinges directly against its piston, depressing the same, and ejecting water contained in the cylinder, through its outletfport K and conduit L, against the wheel, the

valve I, by the downward pressure ofthe water, being closed upon its seat, and preventing egress of water at this point, it being understood that the water thus ejected, after having actuated and left the wheel, re-

turns to the supply within the tank B As the steam is enteringy the first cylinder and depressing its piston, the exhaust is passing from the opposite cylinder through the port D and exhaust-port 1 E, the said exhaust being conducted toand discharged immediately above and against the body of water contained in the tank B, in order to raise the temperature of the same to some extent, by which means the water is prevented from freezing in cold weather, and other advantages are thereby gained.

The steam exerts a force upon the piston until the Ato a point equal to or below that of the combined at pressure of such steam within the' cylinder is reduced mosphere and water surrounding the exterior of the cylinder, when the water in the tank, displaced by the cylinder, in the eii'ort to reach its own level, rushes into the cylinder and buoys up the piston until it reaches its highest altitude, which it does coincident with the arrival of the first-mentioned piston at its lowest point in the cylinder, the effect of this eiiort of the water to seek its level being to raise the valve below the second piston, and to open free passage of the water to the cylinder.

As the first-mentioned piston arrives at its lov/est point, and' the second piston reaches its highest altitude, the valve closes the first-mentioned port, and opens the second, and allows thesteam to act directly upon the second piston, and, by depressing it, forces water from its cylinder,and through the conduit of the latter.

As the operations of the steam-chest O, ports D D,

valve F, and pistons J J, are the same as in steamengines now generally in use, their action and effect will be understood, by persons accustomed to such engines, without further explanation than has already been herein given.

Among the advantages gained by the adoption of my invention are the following:

The friction upon the entire apparatus, between the point of admission of steam to the steam-chest and its point of action upon the machinery which it drives, is less than in the usual steam-engine.

Another' advantage accruing from rny invention, is its employment, in connection with mill-privileges, where the water is of little avail for driving a water-wheel', during several months in the year, and where it is desirable or necessary to employ the power of steam, in addition to that of water, as, by the use of my device, steam may be used to drive the water directly against the wheel, without the aid ofv a fall or a pressure of water.

As the only waste of water by my invention is that resulting from evaporation, the tank in which the cylin` ders are immersed need be fed only at long intervals of time; and as no fall or pressure is required in the operation of my device, it may be employed to great advantage in many localities where the supply of water is very limited, and where no fall can be obtained, and avoids the necessity and expense of building a dam.

Having thus described the nature of my. invention,

What I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States, is-

l. As a pump for forcing and elevating iuids,`the` combination and arrangement of the cylinders G G, and pistons J J, with the steam-chest, and valve, and ports, the said cylinders G G being provided with the valves I I and conduits L L, as hereiubefore explained.

2.1In combination with the pistons J J and cylinders G G, provided as explained, and the steam-chest and valve before mentioned, the tank B, containing water, the whole being arranged as herein shown and described.

3. The combination of the cylinders G G and' the `steam-chest and valve, with the water-wheel, or motor,

M, substantially upon the p'rinciple and in the manner as set forth and explained.

PETER LEAR.

Witnesses.: .v

FRED. Gomis, EDWARD GRIFFITH. 

